Lorena Wiebes wins opening stage of Women's Tour de France

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Lorena Wiebes won the opening stage of the Women’s Tour de France on Saturday.

The Dutch cyclist, who represents the SD Worx-Protime team, claimed the flat 137-kilometer (85-mile) ride that started and finished in the city of Lausanne and took the competitors past two lakes locked in the Swiss Alps.

Kim Le Court crossed the finish line second, ahead of Demi Vollering, who has won multiple races this year including the Giro d’Italia.

“I can’t believe it,” Wiebes said. “The SD Worx-Protime team worked super-hard. Demi attacked, I thought, ‘I need to follow’. It was a super-long sprint."

French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt, who won the race last year, finished eighth while Vuelta winner Paula Blasi was 12th.

This edition, the fifth of the Women’s Tour, will cover 1,175 kilometers (730 miles) over nine days.

Sunday's 149km stage goes from Aigle to Geneva before the route heads into France. It features a climb of Mont Ventoux in its toughest ascent on Friday before finishing in Nice on the French Riviera two days later.

Tadej Pogacar won his fifth men’s Tour de France title last weekend.

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